The Quiet Before The Storm
by MakeMeLoseControl
Summary: 1st in series. A night out for Nick and Warrick turns to chaos when a pub brawl gets out of control. Murder, death, crime and guilt. This is only the beginning. NW Friendship.


_**The Quiet Before The Storm - MakeMeLoseControl**_

_**A/N:** It's pretty long. Longest I've ever done. But bare with it. You might just like it._

_**Disclaimer:** If you know it, I don't own it._

_**Enjoy and thanks in advance for reading.**_

* * *

_For just a moment, everything was silent. It seemed almost as if the world itself had stopped on its axis. The chill of the early morning air hung over the city, still and silent. The sky, a mixture of dark iron grey and dull orange, seemed like a frozen backdrop behind the high desert hills and the noiseless, white moon._

_For that instant in time, there was not a breeze. Not a sound. The earth was at rest. And all was deathly still._

_For just a moment…_

_---_

_And then it ended._

_The quiet before the storm._

_--------------------------------------------------------------------------_

**Earlier…**

"Where are we?" Nick asked as he looked out of the passenger side window of Warrick's Tahoe. It was almost 11p.m. and after finishing a relatively easy case at the lab, the two were off for the rest of the night. They had decided to take advantage of this rare occurrence by going out together, something they hadn't done for a long time. Too long in both of their opinions. Nick had kindly let Warrick choose the location but it was obvious from the lack of enthusiasm in his voice that he regretted that decision.

After driving for almost an hour, further and further from the strip, Warrick was now taking them down an empty road in the middle of the desert. The weird thing was, although they were well off the beaten track, he still seemed to know entirely where he was going.

Nick knew that he probably had no idea where he had taken them. He was probably lost and too embarrassed to say anything. But that was what he had always loved about his best friend. His ability to hide his feelings. In almost every situation, Warrick was able to maintain his cool exterior. Stay calm and rational. Nick could never do that. His feelings always got the best of him and it was too hard for him to keep them all in.

Warrick smiled slyly and took his eyes off the road for a second to glance at his partner. "You'll see." He said simply, knowing how much Nick hated being kept in suspense.

_Oh great, _Nick thought, _he _is _lost. _He chuckled slightly at the thought and shook his head, turning to look out the window again.

"What?" Warrick frowned, not taking his eyes off the road. "What's so funny?"

Nick turned in his chair to face Warrick. "Admit it man," he said, trying to hold back his laughter. "We're lost." He smiled widely, showing all his teeth.

Warrick smiled too but didn't look at Nick. Instead he scanned the area outside the car and, after a few seconds of looking back and forth, slowed the car and made a sudden turn down a road that Nick hadn't even noticed. It was a long, dark narrow road and, from where they were, neither Nick nor Warrick could see to the end of it.

The surrounding trees blocked out the moonlight and had made the car so dark that Nick could hardly make Warrick out in the shadows. They travelled up the road in silence for a while before Warrick turned at last to face his partner. "We're not lost." He finally replied.

Nick was about to answer back when suddenly Warrick's face and the whole interior of the car lit up with the glow of flashing neon lights making him jump. "We're here."

Nick looked out his window again, searching for the source of the light. What he saw was completely unexpected. There was what appeared to be a bar, right there in front of them. There, in the middle of the desert, in this random secluded area that Nick didn't even know existed, there was a bar. He looked back at Warrick for some kind of explanation but all he got was a smug smile in return.

Warrick parked his car where there were quite a few others parked side by side. He started to reach for the door handle to get out but Nick stopped him by grabbing his arm.

"Warrick," he said looking, not at his friend, but out the window at the club. "Where the hell are we?"

"The middle of no-where." Warrick told him, one side of his mouth twisting upward to form a goofy half-grin.

Nick looked at his friend bemusedly. "Yeah, I realised that, but _where_ in the middle of no-where?"

Warrick's half-grin grew to form a full one. He removed his hand from the car door handle and lifted it to point at one of the bars glowing signs. It was right above the door and was obviously the name of the bar. It read; 'The Middle Of No-Where'. Nick read it and smiled in realisation, then released the grip on his partners arm and allowed him to get out.

The second Warrick opened the door to get out, the car was filled with the thump of the base of a song playing inside and silenced the second he shut the door behind him. Nick wondered how on earth his friend knew about this obscure place and then got out the car himself.

Once again, his ears were met with the thumping base which got louder and more prominent the closer they got to the bar. The man at the entrance gave Warrick a nod, recognising him from previous visits, as the two passed through the door.

The first thing Nick noticed as he entered the Middle of No Where was how comfortable Warrick was in it as if he had been there multiple times before. A few paces ahead of Nick, Warrick turned around and asked; "Whad'ya think?"

Nick looked around, considering what to say. Beside its location, the place was nothing special. The bar, surrounded by padded steel barstools, stood in front of a huge window which stretched over the whole wall and looked out into pure desert. The music, played by a live performer was lively and loud and enjoyable. Although the bar was not extraordinary, there was an atmosphere that seemed promising and Warrick seemed to be quite proud of it. He'd brought his friend here because he wanted to impress him and give him a good time. So Nick looked at his friend and smiled.

"It's great." He had to raise his voice to be heard over the music. "But isn't it a bit much? I mean, what's the occasion?"

Warrick thought for a while before replying. "Do we need a reason?"

Satisfied with Warrick's answer, the two continued further in. Warrick took a seat at the bar and Nick followed, sitting on the stool beside him.

---

It wasn't long until they were engaged in deep conversation, enjoying each others company and having a great time. They both realised how much they missed going out like this. Just the two of them, doing what friends do. Talking and joking, making fun of each other and sharing news.

---

"I'm tellin' ya man," Warrick laughed, taking a swig of his non-alcoholic drink. "She was checking me out!"

"Nah, Rick. That girl only had eyes for me and you know it. You'll have to accept the fact that when I'm around you're invisible." Nick replied with mock pity. His eyes glistened with a playful energy that hadn't been in them for quite a while. "Ladies can only see me."

"Yeah," Warrick grinned. "She saw you. Then she caught a glimpse of tall, handsome me and _you _became invisible."

Nick chuckled and sipped his drink. Their mindless argument had been going on for almost five minutes and showed no signs of stopping. They were kidding themselves. Both of them knew that the woman in question hadn't looked at either of them. In fact, she seemed to be quite happy with the man she was already with.

Nick opened his mouth again, about to retort, when he stopped and frowned focusing on something behind Warrick. Curious about what his friend was looking at, Warrick turned around to see. Sitting further along the bar was young couple and between them and Nick and Warrick was a middle-aged man with a red, angry face raising the back of his hand to a female bartender threateningly, shouting in an incoherent drunken slur.

She backed away, looking quite frightened as the man continued to yell and swing his arms around, knocking over a few drinks and causing a lot of fuss. Warrick and Nick sat watching and wondering whether to intervene. They were still contemplating when the man suddenly grabbed the nearest beer mug and smashed it on the bar, sending shattered glass flying everywhere and swinging the sharp remains carelessly in the bartenders direction. She yelped and pressed herself against the window behind her as far away from the man- who was now leaning over the bar lunging at her with the broken glass- as she could.

Instinctively, Nick and Warrick snapped into action. There was no question. This man was a danger to everyone in the bar and, since no-one else seemed to want to do anything to stop him, it was up to the CSI's to help. The bouncer had chosen the perfect time to completely disappear as well as the rest of the staff.

Without hesitation, Warrick yelled; "Hey!" as he and Nick rose from their stools. The man was about 6'2'' with a huge bulky figure that, although it seemed to be mostly fat, appeared to give him an advantage. He turned quickly, stumbling after too much alcohol, to send the CSI's a menacing stare.

"Leave her alone." Nick said to him, although there was no-one to leave alone. The bartender had made a swift exit the second the mans attention had been drawn away from her.

The man grunted and threw down the broken glass in his hands. For a second, Nick and Warrick thought that they had succeeded in talking him down but the next thing they knew, the man was picking up a barstool. He had merely traded one weapon for another, more dangerous one.

He swung the legs of the stool in the direction of Nick and Warrick but the two dodged it easily, especially since the man was so drunk his depth-perception was way off. Nick shot Warrick a concerned glance wanting to know what to next. People, finally becoming aware of the situation, began to back out of harms way but made no attempt to help out in any way. Warrick looked back with an expression that said 'Got any ideas?'. Nick had no time to reply when the man lunged at them again, this time getting frighteningly close.

Warrick raised his hands in front of himself defensively. "Put the stool down man." He said calmly. "Put it down." He motioned his hands in a downward direction slowly. His tranquillity seemed to anger the man more as he swung the stool again, clipping Nick in the side- not hard enough to cause him serious damage but enough to make him gasp and hunch over with the pain. He could already imagine a hefty bruise forming in his middle as he clutched it protectively.

This proved to be the last straw for Warrick who was tired of the man's disruption of a perfect night. He reached out suddenly and grabbed the legs of the stool which jutted out in his direction. He used them to shove the stool backwards into the man's chest, sending him reeling backwards. Reaching for the bar to steady himself, the man cut his hand on the shattered glass he had created on the bar, his face reddening with rage.

He growled ferociously, exploding with anger and throwing the stool to the floor making it fall to pieces. He started to lash at both men randomly, in a way that only a drunk man would, throwing violent punches in every direction which both CSI's managed to dodge (though, not with ease). He clawed at everything he could, managing to scratch both Nick and Warrick a few times.

They were doing their best to defend themselves without attacking the man but it was becoming increasingly difficult. They knew that if they fought back and things turned nasty they could lose their jobs and so were doing their best not to but their opponent was only becoming more and more violent and vicious.

Without warning, he grabbed Warrick's arm, sending the glass shards that were implanted in his bloody palm piercing through Warrick's skin. Warrick winced and, having truly had enough of letting the drunk have the upper-hand, he swung a fist and hit him solidly on the jaw.

The man, only slightly fazed by this, released Warrick's arm but prepared to fight back. He was about to throw a punch when Nick quickly pushed him forcefully away from them. He stumbled backward and got his feet tangled in the stool he had thrown down earlier. Unable to maintain his balance, he toppled to the floor flailing his arms wildly and landing flat on his back with a hollow thud.

The bouncer, only _now _returning from wherever he had been, swiftly entered and dragged the drunken man, who was suddenly a lot quieter, from the bar leaving Nick and Warrick staring after him slightly rattled and both trembling faintly inside with both adrenaline and relief.

For a moment, they both stood completely still beside their heaving chests, unsure of what the hell had just happened. Then they looked at each other in a stunned, confused silence as people around them returned to their seats and continued to drink as if nothing had happened and the music carried on playing in the background. The young female bartender appeared again behind the bar as another bartended entered and began to sweep up the mess on the floor below their feet.

Nick reached out and touched her arm lightly to get her attention. "'Scuse me ma'am," he said as she looked up at him from her dustpan and brush. "Shouldn't you leave that?" She looked at him with a blank expression on her face. "For insurance." He continued. She stared at him a moment longer and then, without a word, she returned to sweeping as if she hadn't understood or cared about a word he had said.

Nick looked back at Warrick for an explanation but Warrick just shrugged as he settled back down in his stool.

"At least," Nick decided to try again. The bartender looked up again this time with a bemused and fed-up expression on her face. This put Nick off a little but he said what he wanted to say anyway. "At least for the police."

He finally got a reaction from the bartender but it wasn't what he had expected. She smirked and shook her head as if Nick had said something absurd. Then, realising he was serious, said to Nick;

"You must be new here." She took Nick's silence as a 'yes'. "Well, look hun, we get guys like that almost every night. In fact, the guy you just fought with- Dennis- he's one of our top trouble-makers. We take it all with a pinch of salt." She smiled at Nick, pitying him for his naivety. "Thanks for your concern though. 'S not often you meet a gentleman like you these days."

Behind him, Warrick cleared his throat loudly and the bartender smiled.

"And you of course, 'Rick." She added, grinning. "How you been honey?"

"You know," He said shrugging. "Usual. What about you, Suze? Keeping out of trouble?"

'Suze' smiled with fake innocence. "Wouldn't dream of doin' anythin' else." She looked at Nick and then back at Warrick. "You gonna introduce me to your friend?" She began to look Nick up and down, her lips twisting into a slight smile.

For the first time, Nick noticed how attractive she was. She had flawless tanned skin and wavy, shoulder length hair. Her lips were in a constant pout and she had a tiny piercing through her left nostril along with the jubilee of piercings up both her ears. Her amazing big brown shiny eyes were sincere but also showed something deeper, as if she had seen a lot in her life. Her short skirt showed off the tattoo of a butterfly on her inner thigh and there was another tattoo further down her leg at her angle of some kind of hieroglyphic-looking symbol.

Warrick looked wary, knowing that this woman was a bit too much for Nick to handle. "No." He grinned. "So you can stop looking at him like that."

Suzie rolled her eyes. "Fine." She huffed with defeat and returned to her sweeping, glancing up at Nick one last time to playfully blow him a kiss.

Warrick, seeing this, pouted and frowned with mock jealousy. Suzie noticed and chuckled. "Calm down, Ricky." She said gathering up the remains of the broken barstool. "You know you're the only man for me."

Warrick grinned with satisfaction and then turned to Nick and said; "Come on. Time to go." He grabbed his jacket off the back of his stool. Time had flown by and they both needed a lot of sleep to be ready for work later on.

Nick complied without hesitation. The night's events had worn him out and, although he had enjoyed it, he yearned for his bed. Adrenaline was wearing off and exhaustion was setting in.

They got up and walked to the door and, though they tried to hide it, they both took a quick look around outside to check if Dennis had waited for them out there. There was no-one around. They assured themselves that he had probably gone searching for someone else to take his pent-up, misdirected anger on. Then, they scolded themselves for being so paranoid.

As they exited the bar, they were met with the cool fresh air of an early morning in the middle of a Nevada desert. The sun was still far from rising so it was as dark as night.

They made their way to the car, finding quite hard to locate amongst the others with the only light source being the neon glow coming from the Middle of No-Where.

After minutes of searching, the found the car and began their long journey back home. They were silent for a while before Nick said;

"So how did you come to find that place?"

"Known it for years." Said Warrick simply as he turned out of the dark, narrow road that they had come in on.

"And Suzie," Nick continued. "You and her…?" He trailed off.

"No! No…. Just friends."

Nick raised an eyebrow, suspicious of his friends' hasty denial. Warrick didn't even have to take his eyes off the road to know what expression Nick had on his face. He chuckled slightly and said;

"Don't even…. We're just friends!"

"Very good friends." Nick added as he grinned cheekily.

"Yeah, and that's all." Warrick told him with a smile. "So don't start gettin' ideas in that little head of-…"

Warrick stopped and frowned, his eyes focused on the rear view mirror. "What's this fool doing?" He said more to himself than to Nick. Nick twisted round in his seat to look out of the rear window of the car and see what Warrick was talking about.

A car behind them, lights on full-blare, was driving dangerously close and swerving from side to side as if trying to over-take them but not going through with it.

Suddenly, it accelerated forward, crashing into the back of Warrick's Tahoe sending it jolting forward violently. Nick looked from Warrick back to the car behind them with shock as Warrick cursed furiously and slowed down. The other car also slowed down and Warrick started to pull over, angry about his car being damaged and already thinking about the cost of repairs.

"What are you doing?!" Nick hissed with urgency as Warrick stopped the car. The other car pulled up and stopped behind them.

"I'm getting this idiots details so he can pay for whatever damage he's done to my car!" Warrick replied as if it was obvious.

"But-"

But Warrick was in no mood for arguments. Not only had his car been damaged, but just when the night had started getting better, something had gone and ruined it again. All he had wanted was a nice night out with his best buddy. It was turning into a disaster. "You can stay in the car." He interrupted with frustration and, with no further discussion; he got out the car, slamming the door shut behind him.

He walked quickly, with balled fists to the rear of his car. The other driver, who was not visible behind their blinding headlights, hovered in the darkness seemingly too ashamed to be confronted. Warrick scowled sourly as he saw the extent of the damage to his precious Tahoe, the whole rear was considerably dented. He glared at the figure in the darkness who stood still beside their own vehicle which, to add to Warrick's frustration, seemed practically unharmed.

"Hey!" He called out. The figure in the darkness shuffled their feet slightly but did not reply or get any closer. "What the hell is wrong with you!?" He continued to shout as he took a step closer to the other car. There was once again no answer and this time the man in the shadows stood completely still.

"Are you listening to me?!" Warrick took another step forward, angered further by the lack of replies. This man had some nerve to crash into his car and then not say a word to explain why.

"I said…" Warrick began, stepping forward once more and flexing his long fingers before clenching them into fists. He could feel the anger bubbling up inside him and knew that he was close to losing his temper completely.

Then, he heard a sound that chilled him to the very core. All anger inside him was replaced by fear and shock. He stopped dead in his tracks, his pale green eyes widening to a size he had never thought possible. Every hair on his body stood up as a cold sweat leaked from his pores. His pulse was rushing, his thoughts were all over the place, and his heart was pounding so hard he could feel it in his head.

It was at that very moment, when he heard that sound, that he knew. He knew that something big was going to happen that night. Something he would never forget. And it wasn't going to be good. He knew.

Everything around him- but the blinding headlights of the Ford that had hit his Tahoe- disappeared. It was just him, the stranger, the darkness, and that sound; echoing around his mind. Replaying over and over.

The click of a gun being prepared to be fired.

He heard it almost every day.

Never had it terrified him as much as it did now.

Frozen, knowing that any move he made could be his last, he simply watched as the figure in the darkness took one slow step after another out of the dark and into the light.

He found himself worrying about Nick who was still in the car, wondering if- when this madman was finished with him- he'd go after Nick too. He hoped to God not. But surely Nick would hear the gunshot and be smart enough to get his gun out. Surely.

Hopefully.

The first thing that came into view confirmed Warrick's greatest fear. There was a gun pointed at him. He could now see the barrel aimed straight towards him. Another step forward and most of the gunman's outstretched arm was revealed. Another and half of his body poked out of the shadows. One final step and his whole body was finally revealed- and, although half silhouetted, easily recognisable.

It was when he saw the face, it dawned on him. Warrick wondered why he hadn't realised it before. It was obvious now. The figure from the darkness was none other that Dennis from the bar.

Back with a vengeance. And here to finish what he'd started.

_--------------------------------------------------------------------------_

Nick frowned at Warrick's retreating back then turned in his seat to look out of the windscreen. Straight ahead into the open road. He understood why Warrick was angry. Why he had snapped. He knew he was just trying to make their one night out together special. He appreciated that. He would have gotten out the car himself if his ribs weren't hurting as much as they were since Dennis hit him with the stool.

Nick smiled slightly when he heard Warrick yell; _'What the hell is wrong with you!?' _and shook his head, feeling sorry for whoever was on the receiving end. It was safe to say, Warrick had definitely lost his cool. The other driver was in for it now.

'_Are you listening to me!?' _He heard his partner shout. He felt like getting out of the car and telling Warrick to leave it. Calm down. He was tired and wanted to go home. But he decided against it, knowing that he would only anger Warrick more.

'_I said…'_

Nick could have sworn he could _feel _the anger emanating from Warrick and seeping through the cracks in his broken car. Nick prepared to hear what was going on but there was nothing. Silence. And the anger he had felt in the atmosphere was gone.

He frowned and tilted his head to the side, straining to hear anything, but there was only silence. This seemed to go on for minutes. Nick grew more and more confused.

He thought it very strange for Warrick to stop so suddenly mid-rant and pursed his lips in deep thought, trying to imagine an explanation for it. When he couldn't think of one, he decided to get out and see for himself.

An inkling deep within him told he to stay in the car and wait until Warrick came back, but curiosity got the better of him and he stepped out into the night.

Walking around the car, he noticed Warrick standing stock still as if frozen. Confused, he looked into his friends wide eyes and followed their line of vision. He couldn't help but let out a short and quiet gasp at what he saw.

Dennis. With a gun. Pointed right at his friend.

Neither Dennis nor Warrick seemed to have noticed Nick get out the car although his presence was quite obvious; he was stood mere metres from Warrick, only on the other side of the car. He did have the protection and camouflage of the darkness on his side though. They were clearly too absorbed in staring each other down.

Nick's mind was racing. He knew he was probably Warrick's only chance. Dennis was still drunk, which meant he was irritable, irrational, a loose canon. He could do anything. Nick knew he had to do something quick. Preferably before Dennis pulled the trigger on his friend.

He stepped briskly and quietly, careful to remain out of the light, towards the rear of Dennis' Ford.

After agonising seconds, he was now only a few metres behind Dennis. Hidden in the darkness, Warrick could not possibly see him but Nick could see Warrick. The panic in his eyes and the sweat on his brow. He could see it all. As hard as he was trying to hide it, Warrick was scared, and it was painted all over his face. _Some gambler he must've been. _Nick thought to himself. Then he realised how inappropriate thoughts like that were and tried to focus on what he was going to do next.

He had no idea. What the hell was he supposed to do now? He didn't have time to _do _anything. Dennis began to speak. His words heavily slurred.

"Where's ya friend?" He asked, tilting his head. Nick felt a shiver down his spine.

"I took him home." Warrick lied. "'S just me." Nick couldn't help but shake his head. It was just like Warrick. Always trying to protect him. Even when his life was in danger.

"You're LYING!" Dennis snapped. He knew it wasn't true. He had been following them ever since they had come out of the bar. He stamped his foot and tightened his grip on the gun. Nick noticed Warrick bite down on his bottom lip. His confident façade was slipping. Big time.

"I oughtta blow your head clean off for how you and ya dumb friend shamed me in that bar!" Dennis bit furiously. "'N fact…" He chuckled, swaying with drunkenness. "I'm_ gonna! _"

What happened next was a complete blur of chaos and confusion. Dennis had both hands on the gun. His finger was on the trigger. Warrick's eyes widened. It looked like this was it. Then suddenly, Nick called out from the shadows. Dennis spun around with surprise. His gun now pointed at Nick. The sun, now rising, he had no more shadow to hide in. Warrick took his only chance and sprung on Dennis with all his strength. They struggled. Now, Dennis had only one hand on the gun. With the other he tried to fight Warrick off him. Nick grabbed the gun with both hands as he tried to wrestle it away from Dennis' tight grip. With the hand that wasn't wrapped around Dennis' neck, Warrick also attempted to pull the gun away. His main aim was to get his finger away from the trigger.

All three men were crowded around the gun, the barrel swinging dangerously and pointing at each of them. All three men had their fingers on the trigger. All three men felt the trigger give way under the force.

Only one man felt the fierce pain of a bullet piercing through their flesh.

Only two men heard the echoes of the gunshot ricochet through the endless Nevada desert.

The third was too close to death to notice.

For just a moment, everything was silent. It seemed almost as if the world itself had stopped on its axis. The chill of the early morning air hung over the city, still and silent. The sky, a mixture of dark iron grey and dull orange, seemed like a frozen backdrop behind the high desert hills and the noiseless, white moon.

For that instant in time, there was not a breeze. Not a sound. The earth was at rest. And all was deathly still.

For just a moment…

**FIN**

**If you want to find out what happens next, look out for the sequel ( a multi-chap fic WIP ) STORM AFTER THE QUIET. It'll be up soon!**

**Hope ya'll enjoyed! Tell me what I can improve or what you liked. **

_**Cyber-Kisses XX**_

_**XxMMLCxX**_


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